Santa Clara woman Sharon Gonzalez is a big winner because she lost big

Sharon Gonzalez was honored and crowned for weight loss in Las Cruces Saturday

Courtesy photo
Sharon Gonzalez, a Santa Clara woman who lost 119 pounds and was crowned Saturday in Las Cruces as New Mexico queen by TOPS, a nonprofit that encourages healthy eating. This is her "after" photo.

SILVER CITY >> Ask Santa Clara resident Sharon Gonzalez, 70, to tell you the story of how she was crowned New Mexico queen by Take Off Pounds Sensibly (TOPS), a nonprofit weight-loss organization, in Las Cruces on Saturday for losing 119 pounds and she'll tell you she's not a hero. But her story is inspiring, especially once you learn that before she lost the weight, Gonzalez almost died of cancer.

Gonzalez said she's been trying to lose weight since 1985, but she wasn't able to get the weight off. Then in 2010, Gonzalez was diagnosed with stage-four throat cancer.

"All I wanted at that point was to live," Gonzalez said.

Courtesy photo
Sharon Gonzalez in her "before" photo. Gonzalez lost more than 119 pounds through TOPS, a nonprofit that encourages people to eat well. Gonzalez was crowned NM queen in Las Cruces on Saturday for her weight loss.

She attributes the fact that she survived cancer at such an advanced stage to "a loving God." During her chemotherapy and radiation treatments, Gonzalez lost her hair, but her friends in the Silver City TOPS chapter brought her decorated hats to cheer her up.

"People ask me, 'aren't you afraid the cancer will come back?' I'm not going to spend the rest of my life worrying about what could be. I just want to enjoy the rest of my life," Gonzalez said.

The mother of two and grandmother of eight still had plenty to live for. She has one great-granddaughter, who Gonzalez dotes on.

"She is so beautiful," Gonzalez said.

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Gonzalez attributes the cancer to helping her lose some of her weight. She said that the food she had to eat when she was still sick had no taste to it. But once she came through chemotherapy and radiation, she was ready to change her diet.

"That was it," she said.

Now she says she eats a lot of vegetables, just a little meat and very little bread. She also walks a mile a day and avoids fast food restaurants. She said that if she is near a fast food restaurant, she has devised a way of pretending it's not there.

"I don't say I'm never tempted," Gonzalez said. "I just pretend I don't see that place. I just ignore where I am."

Although TOPS credits Gonzalez for losing 119 pounds, she said she actually lost more than 170 pounds.

"I'm less than half the person I used to be," she said. She went from a size 3X to a size 12.

According to Mark McLaughlin, media coordinator for TOPS, the organization was started in 1948 by Esther Manz, a woman in Milwaukee, Wis., who was concerned about obesity in this country. According to McLaughlin, 66 percent of the population is, by definition, obese.

"It's a huge percentage and it continues to get worse," McLaughlin said.

TOPS does not sell diet plans or drugs. The nonprofit has chapters all across the U.S. and they encourage members to create a diet program with their personal physician and get exercise. The goal, according to McLaughlin, is to create a healthier person.

Gonzalez is the secretary of the Silver City chapter of TOPS. As New Mexico queen of TOPS, she will travel to Milwaukee, Wis., in July to represent New Mexico in the international competition of TOPS members who have lost a considerable amount of weight. But Gonzalez said she does not expect to win at that level. Now that she has lost weight, she will continue with the organization through KOPS — Keep Off Pounds Sensibly — in order to stay focused on her exercise routine and healthy eating.

Gonzalez said that a typical breakfast before her weight loss could have involved pancakes, French toast, eggs or sausage. Now for breakfast, she chops up jalapeño peppers, onions, tomatoes, kale, spinach, green and red peppers then pours an egg over it. She also drives to Ft. Bayard, where she once lived as a child, and walks for a mile every day.

"It's nice and calm there," Gonzalez said. She has family members buried in Fort Bayard National Cemetery and she likes to visit their graves. She is also active in the Ft. Bayard Historical Preservation Society.

Although Gonzalez insisted a newspaper story about her might make her blush, she did have some advice to offer anyone out there who is trying to lose weight: "Keep trying. Don't give up," Gonzalez said. "Most heavy-set people don't feel very good about themselves, but it doesn't matter how much money you have in the bank or the size of your clothes in the closet. It's what you are worth on the inside that counts and you are very, very special."

Gonzalez, who turns 71 later this month, said she was excited to be recognized in Las Cruces on Saturday, but she doesn't see it as a big deal.

"There are things so much more important than being queen. I'm still here, that's the best thing of all," she said.

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